Salman's just a colleague: Asin

One of the hottest actresses down south who spun magic at the box-office back home; she made waves with Ghajini, her Hindi movie debut last year, won plenty of accolades, featured in top commercials and is now gearing up for her next with Walt Disney. Here’s Asin indulging Rachana Dubey with some girlie talk.

One of the hottest actresses down south who spun magic at the box-office back home; she made waves with Ghajini, her Hindi movie debut last year, won plenty of accolades, featured in top commercials and is now gearing up for her next with Walt Disney. Here’s Asin indulging Rachana Dubey with some girlie talk

What are your plans for today?Ah! I’m travelling to Delhi for some work. Then, I will be flying to Trivandrum from there for a work-related trip.

Have Sundays been any different than this?Not really, because there’s no system of a weekly off for actors and actresses or anyone related with the business of cinema. So, whenever I need an off, I ask for it or sometimes even put my foot down and take a day or two off.

At, some point, Sundays must have been Fundays too?Yeah, they were and they still are when I am in Cochin. Occasionally, when mum, dad and I go there, we have relatives and my childhood friends over. My house turns into my gang’s adda.

We sit and talk for long hours and make up for lost time. My mum is an amazing cook. She makes some of the yummiest things in the world apart from the regular south Indian fare. There’s a binge-fest in my house when she cooks.

Right. You’re starting work on 19th Step with Kamal Haasan?Not immediately but we will start filming very soon. There will be two schedules.. one in Japan and one in India. I play an Indian princess in it. I can’t divulge more till an official announcement is made.

Apparently, the shoot was supposed to have started earlier but it didn’t, courtesy an accident you met with.No, no. 19th Step is running almost on schedule. Everything is going nearly as planned. Yes, I did meet with a minor accident but that didn’t hinder the project.

I believe you did some real life stunts there.(Laughs) Okay, if you say so. I saw a kid in the middle of the road. He was unaware of a speeding car coming in his direction.

I jumped into action, lifted him and jumped aside.. well in time to avoid a crash. He didn’t get hurt but I ended up bruising my palms and bore some injuries here and there. Now, I’m fine.

Dasavatar, in its Hindi dub, couldn’t charm the audience. Do you think it was the right follow-up release after a Ghajini?Audience is king. It decides what it wants. And Dasavatar was not an original Hindi film, it was a dub. So, I don’t think it counts as a follow-up release. I think that should be London Dreams.

The audience complained that they didn’t get to see much of you. That’s sweet of them to have wanted to see more of me. But with 10 heroes, I had two roles to do and that’s more than enough.

In a normal film, a heroine barely gets to do something with just one hero around. Here, poor Kamal was in 10 avatars. I think I should consider myself lucky to have had two.

You didn’t dub for the Hindi version?True, I didn’t. But that’s for reasons best left to the filmmakers and me. I normally dub for all the films I do.

What’s the status on London Dreams?It’s on the editing table now. We’re left with a song to shoot.

There were reports of you throwing tantrums for the dresses on the sets.Rubbish! If an outfit doesn’t fit me correctly, am I not entitled to inform the concerned departments and request a better fit? That’s all I did.

It releases in August with Blue, which has the biggest names in showbiz. Does it bring about a sense of competition within?Actually, I don’t keep a tab on the trade circuit. So, I didn’t know which films were expected to release with London Dreams.

Even now when you have told me, it doesn’t make me feel conscious, insecure or even nervous about the competing films. It doesn’t matter. The best film gets the nod.

Recently, there were reports that one of your assistants had gone missing and the Chennai police came to your doorstep for investigation.Haan? Which assistant of mine went missing? And when did this happen to me? When did any police official come to my house?

I’m sure there are some tabloids, which are working overtime to create some news about me every day. I don’t know if they really love me so much or is it something else.

Your mum is a doctor and dad also has a strong academic background. What about you?I’m a BA in English literature. I was studying when I stepped into glam business.

Didn’t they ever object to your choice of a career?There’s no one professionally into an art field in my family. Despite that, they never stopped me from trying what I wanted to. They were very supportive. They still are. Mum has given up her career to look after us and dad looks after my work.

Have you started making friends in the industry now?(Chuckles) I wasn’t averse to making friends anyway. I met a lot of my contemporaries at award functions in the recent months.

I do keep in touch with a couple of them. But I don’t believe in using ‘friends’ to propel my career. That’s not the idea. We’re either friends for life or not.

It’s said that he has gifted you a house.That’s silly. I’ve been living in the same house ever since I shifted to Mumbai. I hadn’t even met Salman then. The media has got him to gift me a house, someone to do the interiors and even adorned my walls with his paintings and posters.

Buzz is also that Katrina Kaif and he fought over you when she came to keep an eye on you and him in Chandigarh. I keep to myself.. I don’t peep into other people’s lives. Let me clear this once and for all, Katrina and I have met only once when we flew to Chandigarh together.

She went there on a personal trip, not to keep an eye on me. And I had gone to shoot for London Dreams. Katrina is a very sweet lady to be with. Media has a notion that actresses can’t be friends and they don’t want to let go of that. How come are you single still?

I’ve consciously chosen to focus on work. If and when I feel that I am missing someone in my life, there will be someone to fill that vacuum.